The colorful Jamaican Checkerspot is one of some 30 endemic butterfly species on this tropical island. Photo: Rich Hoyer
Scheduled during the time of year when butterfly numbers should be at their peak, this tour packs a punch for endemic species. There are about 30 endemic species of butterflies on Jamaica, almost exactly the same number as birds, with an additional 25 endemic subspecies. Many of the butterflies are little known, among them the largest butterfly in the western hemisphere, the Homerus Swallowtail, and this first tour to focus on the butterflies could add to the collective knowledge of their status.
The typical image of palm-shaded beaches and blue lagoons is not altogether incorrect when it comes to our tours to Jamaica. What we add are visits to picturesque rugged limestone mountains, more rural areas with rainforests and friendly people, and a taste of the cultural history of the island at Marshall’s Pen, a 300-year-old Great House, former coffee plantation, and current working ranch and nature reserve. Our host here, Ann Sutton, is co-author of the new Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica, and we look forward to being among the first to put this book to use.
Day 1: The trip begins this evening in Port Royal. Night in Port Royal.
Day 2: The birds right around our hotel might include the endemic subspecies of Vervain Hummingbird and Bananaquit, and this is also a good bet for some of the scarcer north American wood warblers as well as a few species of seabirds, including terns and Magnificent Frigatebird. Even more species await us elsewhere, so after breakfast we’ll work our way east along the southern coast, stopping to look for shorebirds on the beaches of the Palisadoes and Yallah’s Salt Pond, where Wilson’s Plover, Black-necked Stilt, and a variety of other shorebirds and herons may be present. We’ll also make a stop before lunch to see if the spectacular White-tailed Tropicbirds are visiting their cliff nesting cavities. This is also a good spot for butterflies of weedy areas, such as Little Yellow, Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak, Cassius Blue, and Tropical Checkered-Skipper.
All along the roadsides we’ll see the endemic and resident subspecies of Loggerhead Kingbird, along with Gray Kingbirds, if they haven’t all migrated to their South American wintering grounds already. We’ll notice the habitat change from a low, dry, cactus-mesquite woodland to humid tropical forest. In the late afternoon we’ll do some relaxing butterflying on our hotel grounds west of Port Antonio, where the common skipper on the lawns is Jamaican Broken-Dash. Jamaican Woodpecker, White-chinned Thrush, Orangequit (a curious bird in its own genus), and Jamaican Euphonia are some of the birds we might find here, and, weather permitting, we’ll also make an attempt for Jamaican Owl on our hotel grounds. Night in San San.
Day 3: Today we’ll be slowly butterflying and birding along Ecclesdown Road in the Drivers River Valley. At the base of the John Crow Mountains, this is the wettest forest on the island and the most endemic-rich single spot in the entire Caribbean. This is one of our chances for the spectacular Homerus Swallowtail, the largest of its family in the world. Great Southern White, Apricot Sulphur, Dina Yellow, Zebra Heliconian, Julia (these latter four each represented by endemic subspecies), and the endemic Jamaican and Lilly’s Skippers are some of the many possibilities here.
We’ll also concentrate on searching for the difficult Crested Quail-Dove and the scarce Jamaican Blackbird. The quail-dove may be found walking the roads at dawn (and sometimes later in the day as well), and we should hear their haunting songs from the dense woods, a sound that has earned them the local name “mountain witch.” The blackbird, the only member of its genus, appears to be closely related to no other blackbird: pairs sing short duets, males perform display flights in the canopy, and they search bromeliad and vine tangles more like a foliage-gleaner than any icterid. This species needs mature wet forest, a habitat much reduced in Jamaica, and this is one of the best places to look. Blue Mountain Vireo is also found here, sometimes appearing quietly and unexpectedly only a few feet away. The cheeky Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, noisy Jamaican Woodpecker, and delightful Jamaican Tody are more examples of the fabulous birds we should see here. By day’s end we could have well over half of the island’s endemics under our belt. Night in San San.
Day 4: We’ll have this morning to return to the Drivers River Valley or to bird the grounds of our hotel, depending on our success with the quail-dove and the blackbird. Caribbean Scrub-Hairstreak and Fulvous Hairstreak are often found near the ocean by our hotel, almost always in close association with their host plants. We’ll also need to make sure that we’ve seen the smaller, darker, and proportionately longer tailed “Black-billed” Streamertail, which occurs only at this end of the island, quite possibly on our hotel grounds. Though the AOU currently considers both forms of this dramatic hummingbird to be a single species, it’s virtually certain that the larger Red-billed form found throughout the rest of the island is a distinct species from the Black-billed Streamertail.
After lunch we’ll make the drive into the Port Royal Mountains to our hotel, perched on a mountain slope overlooking coffee fields at the junction with the Blue Mountains. If it’s still sunny, Contrasting Yellow and Antillean Mapwing are good possibilities in the higher elevations, and we’ll be on the lookout for the rare Antillean Clearwing. Night in Silver Hill Gap.
Day 5: We’ll spend the morning high in the Port Royal Mountains, where as much as 100 inches of rain a year supports luxurious and fascinating vegetation: highland trees such as the Blue Mahoe and a heavy growth of mosses, lichens, and bromeliads. The often elusive Crested Quail-Dove and Jamaican Blackbird are also possible here, but this will likely be our only chance at the lovely Rufous-throated Solitaire, an endemic subspecies that should probably be considered distinct from the Hispaniolan form. We may also see Greater Antillean Elaenia, and Arrowhead Warbler seems to be most common in these mountains. Orangequits can be quite abundant in this area, and Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo, the “old man bird,” is often present on our hotel grounds.
We’ll depart just before lunch for the radically different habitats of Portland Ridge. The arid acacia scrub here resembles eastern Africa more than it does other parts of the island, and it is home to the endemic subspecies of Bahama Mockingbird, Vervain Hummingbird, and Stolid Flycatcher. The little-known Jamaican Blue can be common on blooming mesquites here, while Western Pygmy-Blue and Mangrove Buckeye will be found closer to the salty lagoons. Caribbean Martin may also be found nearby, and a search for waterbirds in the mangrove lagoons and northern migrants in the surrounding scrub will add to the day’s interest. We’ll work our way to our home for the next three nights, Marshall’s Pen on the outskirts of Mandeville.
“The Jamaica tour was excellent and Rich Hoyer was a fantastic leader. I ended up seeing all 41 possible life birds! Again, thanks, and I’m already looking into WINGS trips for the next several years.”
- Jerry Theis
**Days 6-7: Marshall’s Pen is a 300-acre estate and private nature reserve. A few lucky birdwatching tours get to stay here. Birds are numerous and easily seen, both in the gardens around the Great House and on the extensive trail system. More than 20 of Jamaica’s endemic birds and several Caribbean specialties occur here, including Jamaican Tody, Jamaican Elaenia, Chestnut-bellied and Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoos, Jamaican Spindalis, and Sad Flycatcher. Even if we’ve already seen many of these by now, Marshall’s Pen is a great place to get better acquainted with them. Many butterflies also occur here, such as Banded Yellow, Ceraunus Blue, Cuban Crescent, the lovely endemic (and sexually dimorphic) False Androgeus Swallowtail, the satyr Jamaican Calisto, Jamaican Mestra, and Three-spotted Skipper.
One afternoon we’ll drive southwest into the lowlands, where we’ll scan the ponds, lakes, and marshes. If we’re lucky we might see Masked Duck, Yellow-breasted Crake, Caribbean Coot, West Indian Whistling-Duck, or perhaps a crocodile waiting expectantly under the heron roost. Antillean Daggerwing and White Peacock are more common in the lowlands of this part of the island.
One day we’ll rise early and drive into the Cockpit Country, home to several butterflies and birds not always easily seen elsewhere on the island. The rugged karst formations here have been an effective deterrent to forest clearing, making the Cockpit Country some of the most pristine habitat in Jamaica. We’ll arrive in time to see the mist lift from the “egg-box” hills that give the area its name, and, more importantly, to view the early morning flights of Yellow-billed and Black-billed Parrots, and with luck we’ll see them perched. We’ll look especially for Ring-tailed Pigeon, Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, and Jamaican Crow, and this is the only place some of our tours have been lucky to find the Plain Pigeon.
As it warms up, butterflies will dominate our attention. With all the endemic plants here, some exciting endemic species and subspecies are possible. Our spring tours have come across Jamaican Giant Swallowtail, Jamaican Checkerspot, Jamaican Crescent, Jamaican Flasher, Common Anastrus, Gold-spotted Aguna, Jamaican Sicklewing, and Jamaican Silverdrop, and this is another area of the island where the rare Homerus Swallowtail is known to occur.
We’ll return to Marshall’s Pen in the late afternoon. One of the best parts of the day here is the evening meal on the veranda, the table full of delicious Jamaican food and the diners surrounded by the sounds of the Jamaican night—the voices of Jamaican Owl, Northern Potoo, and myriad amphibians.
Nights at Marshall’s Pen.
Day 8: Our final day should allow a relaxed morning to enjoy the beautiful and birdy grounds, where we’ll get our last looks at species such as Jamaican Oriole, Jamaican Becard, or Jamaican Euphonia. After lunch, we’ll pay a visit to the Rocklands Bird Sanctuary, where Red-billed Streamertails and Jamaican Mangos perch on your fingers and Black-faced and Yellow-faced Grassquits and wintering Black-throated Blue Warblers visit feeders at arm’s length. Night in Montego Bay.
Day 9: The trip concludes this morning in Montego Bay.
Updated: 30 November 2009
Prices
- 2010 price about $4,190
- Single Occupancy Supplement $340
Notes
Maximum group size 12 participants with two leaders.